 Ladies and gentlemen, the American Broadcasting Company brings to its entire network one of radio's most unusual programs Pat Novak for hire I'm Pat Novak for hire That's what the sign out in front of my office says Pat Novak for hire You're trying to make a living down on the waterfront in San Francisco. You got to run things like a smorgasbord You take a little of everything you can get your hands on Even then it's a bumpy ride because down here everybody tries to pad his part Though I rent boats and do anything else good men pay bad men to do You don't get many gold stars that way, but you pay the bar bill and it's about as safe as a closet full of tigers The only way you can make friends down in the waterfront is to die. I Found that out Tuesday night. I Went to the wrestling matches and watched gorgeous George so some guy around like a poker chip in Tijuana I Was in the middle of the crowd on my way out of the place when this guy stepped up behind me and started talking You've got company. I said you got company on both sides Did your friend get his face at a fire sale to can't all be pretty keep walking Novak Gun in my back supposed to help. That's up to you Straight ahead and out the side door You got the right growl, but the wrong guy, mr. You keep working your mouth, but nothing comes out. All right this way What are your plans? Shall we take the kids car right down here? Now look big shot in a drugstore. I get all the mystery. I want for two bits you want things explained Yeah, besides shovel head here. I don't understand a thing. We just want Joe Denean I never heard of him either. We just want Joe Denean. All right, you can have him You're welcome see his wife see anybody you like I don't even know the guy you're full of talk Soon as you want to make it the right kind you can go home Here we are end of the back seat You drive Eddie you boys run on I'll grab a cab get in We're not gonna take a boat That's it. Just be a good mouse You've got a lot of time to waste it this way mr. You're too gabby Novak, and you're too tough Junior and this noise is beginning to give me a headache Let's go Eddie Novak's gonna sulk a while He could have taken three bases on that wallop I spread out on the back seat like a bowl of cake batter and tried to think of a guy named Joe Denean There was nobody on my list by that name But the way these two gunsles acted he was supposed to be a blood relative. I Could hear him talking dimly and I tried to follow the conversation, but it was like trying to put a smoke ring in your pocket. I Don't know how long the tour lasted it must have been about 30 or 40 minutes when the car pulled up and the big Gunner started to yank me wake up wake up sweet boy Come on. It's time for your 10 o'clock feeding. Yeah, we'd like borrow some legs. Come on. You never looked better Down the dock here Are we playing a new game or hunting a guy named Denean? That's right. Good. Now. I know the rules That's your boat Novak. It's got my name on it. That's your boat Novak What's it looked like the Normandy? Of course, it's my boat who threw the blood all over it one of your friends Look you better back up and start a recap I never heard of Denean and from the size of his friends I'm just about as happy you mean he didn't rent a boat off you if he used that boat He stole it. Mr. I closed up tonight at seven to make it sound good It is good I've been off the waterfront four hours in the meantime Somebody takes my boat and gets a shot full of holes and sends you around a week. Who is Denean a friend? I don't blame either of you for hanging on to one We were supposed to meet him at your landing at ten He was gonna rent one of your boats and we were gonna meet him at ten There's the boat you want to pay the damages we came early and found the boat piled up blood all over and no Dene You got any ideas maybe cut himself shaving drag the bay mister I don't know your guy, but somebody did they met him out there in the bay and cut him down You sound happy now look I don't care one way or another except to use my boat You wanted to die should have hired a Davenport. That's all I know I never heard of Joe Denean Yeah, you and your friend here better go sap somebody else sure Novak We'll look around but hang on to your cards because you still got a hand in this game. Thanks mother. I'll remember that Nice curve no back you're wrong mister my friends ride the cable car. You made a bum pitch Novak. Can I trust it? Oh, you can't afford a fight now. I want you for Eddie Novak. Sorry fellow the water's gonna be cold No Whatever gave you that idea. I'm a night watchman over here That fellow lying on the dock there dead. I don't know if he's not he's gonna catch cold What about the other fellow? Maybe he can't swim. What do you care? He doesn't oh They come here looking for something yeah, guess they didn't find it up somebody satisfied They were trying to find the guy that came out of that boat down there Oh, you mean the funny-looking guy huh a guy got out of that boat a few hours ago all banged up I think he was in a fight sure somebody shot him I think he was in a fight where'd he go down the dock toward the street He asked about a fella and went down the dock. Oh, he asked about a fellow named Novak Do you know him? Yeah, but I'll do my best to forget It wasn't gonna be easy to forget. I knew there was a guy wandering around San Francisco waiting to jog my memory And before long somebody was gonna find out those two dead guys weren't doing lighthouse keeping down on the dock Once homicides smell that red meat. They turn inspector hellman loose. That's like pouring a bottle of cyanide in a wedding cake Oh, he's a smart cop with a heart the size of a full-grown pea. I Got off the dock in a hurry and I went home When I left the watchman was still standing there waiting to check in the next murder and smiling like a vulture with a first option on a massacre Well, I had to get home and look sweet in case helman showed up When I opened the door to my place Helman was on the couch with a pencil in one hand and a movie magazine in the other Hello Novak. You're busy No, I'll just stand here and watch you a little more of that pencil and movie magazine routine And you'll break out in a cold sweat. What have you been staying out of the people's apartments I got an answer for that. You haven't got an answer for anything helman. You can't fill in the return address envelope What's on your mind? Can I make a call? No, not to play cat and mouse if you want to know about that blood bath down on the dock say so Yeah, they're close strangers. I never saw either of them before you're getting loose around the mouth Novak That's right. If some of your playmates stubbed their toes. It's news to me You better tell me though. It'll save time. Oh, what's the use if a fact walked up and sat in your lap You'd lose it suit yourself Have a drink. Yeah, I will Where's the bottle opener, huh? The bottle opener you got teeth for it. I need a bottle opener. I don't know try the kitchen. All right try the light Well about this guy on the floor Novak, don't tell him to move because I don't think he can When I looked down at the guy on the floor, I felt like a burlap sack from the neck down He was a big guy lying on his back and you got the idea. He took it hard He didn't like the way the vote came in Because he wasn't relaxed the way most people are when they're on the prowl for a harp He was about as rigid as a coil a wet line on a steamer deck His face was pockmarked in the color of an old piece of abalone Helman was standing over him and the shadow cut across the lower part of his face It almost blocked out the gun a big 38 lying about four feet away Uh, the rest of the kitchen was a mess was torn up worse than a japanese lantern in a high wind Helman was leaning against the cabinet and smiling like the banker in a crooked blackjack game Does he belong to you Novak? No, he's not pretty enough roll him over. We'll find out who he is I've already been through his stuff wipe your hands. The green still shows his name is joe danine He's sure we're popular joe. Why the scavenger hunt every gonuf in town has been looking for him I figured you for the prize two of them picked me up and lugged me down to the waterfront Yeah, I told you about them. They ran into bad weather. Why'd they take you? Because I looked like a bird dog. Maybe I don't know why helman They just took me in the meantime sunshine here took my boat out and got shot up And he came up here to borrow your adhesive tape. That's all I know helman. He must have figured me for a part I got the same trouble novak that gun on the floor helps too that gun second lead at best I never saw it before it's the murder gun. How did it get here? I don't know Maybe the skull remade left it come on novak. You're in the spot. You better start digging If I do any digging the dirt's gonna go in your face helman You've got a nice face to novak You better buy a big shield helman. You've got a lot to hide behind stop beef and you're the host What about the safety deposit box? You're ahead of me on that one You ought to have your picture taken. He was talking about a safety deposit box when I got here He was alive when you got here. That's right. Show more joy The neighbors heard the shooting and phoned in. Well, who did it? What did he say? He said tough luck copper That's all he said something about a safety deposit box and tough luck copper. Oh, that's real fine You let him die clammed up. You're smart helman. You let him off with a third rate tag line You're a lucky novak this way. It's going to take me 12 hours to wrap you up I'm gonna run that gun through and check a couple of things and I'll be on your tail I want to see you follow something of helman with that big nose of yours You couldn't find a moose in the bathtub look novak. You're a small time waterfront punk. You've been lucky so far But you're still a punk. I don't like you and I'm gonna hang you by your heels I'm gonna get you if it's the last thing I ever do. I'm gonna get you helman If I thought you were on the level about that I'd give myself up When helman left things were about as dim as a glow worm at high noon All the leads were tucked away in the morgue those two stiffs on the dock checked out with nothing But a grunt and the guy up in my place left a 38 and some mild regrets I had the funny feeling there was a lead up there in that apartment, but I couldn't get a hold of it Something waiting to be understood the way a thing gets balanced on the edge of your brain Half in half out like the melody but not the words of an old song Well, I didn't know where to turn I was hunting for the shoreline on a dark night So I looked up the only honest guy I know an ex-doctor and a boozer by the name of jaco madigan Oh, he's all right, but he's got the idea that all liquid that isn't a hundred proof lacks character I finally found him in a little bar down near union square. He was talking to a blonde girl and a sailor when I walked in Ah You'll find me in the late october of my life trying to recapture a few april moments. Yeah, jaco I got to talk to you. That's what I like about good whiskey It makes you too sentimental to be mad at yourself for growing old Now look, I'm in a jam lay off that stuff long enough to listen patchy you underrate the grape It's a terrible mistake. It's thrown off the whole perspective of history. All right, jaco Like that story about young washington and the cherry tree They blame him for that But actually it was his first hint of future greatness. Yeah. Yeah, they talk about vandalism Whereas the truth of the matter is he was just preparing a few manhattons for the family The whole perspective of history has been altered patchy. Stop it. Will you I'm in trouble. Will you help me out? Yes, if you'll allow me to get a word in edgewise What kind of trouble there's a dead guy up in my place I don't know why you're in trouble. Think of his bleak outlook on things helman's nosing around and he thinks I did it Did you no he got shot in relays But he picked my place to quit and there are two other dead guys down on the dock What were their practices a strong army about 10 o'clock and took me down to the waterfront We were supposed to find a guy named joe denine But they looked too ripe to somebody. How about denine? He's that guy up at my place when helman got there. We was muttering about a safety deposit box and staring at a big 38 Oh, come on. You got to help me jaco. Yes, uh, where would you like me to spread the ashes? I want you to get out and find out everything you can about joe denine. Will you he's your house guest Why don't you go hit the chronicle and the examiner morgues and try to find out if he has a safety deposit box in any Of the banks, huh? Where are you going before prison? I mean I'm going down on lion helman shadow until something turns up I need every minute jaco. So hurry. Well, I'll I'll need a quick one for the road first You'll get going right now jaco Perhaps you have a defiant attitude for a man on the doorstep to the next world Try to be sweeter until you discover your normal disposition will do You can start by paying my bar bill. All right. Will you hurry? How much do you owe about 11 dollars? What are you been doing all night? Are you crazy? I may owe 11 dollars patchy But so far I've had a better night than you have. Good night lover I had to get started on some answers because once helman checked on those two guys at the dock He'd go to work on me and keep hacking away and finally cut me down like a piece of flint and a cigarette lighter Well after I left jaco, I started down to headquarters was a little after midnight and the streets were wet and silent Except that now and then you could hear a woman's laughter coming out of the dark as you passed along That's the only sound the night keeps whole While I was cutting down leavenworth street when it came to me I knew what my lead was up in that apartment. It didn't hit me suddenly It kept shoving in like a piece of old seaweed on the water moving in and out and finally brushing up against you If that guy was alive when helman got there that meant that maybe he could have phoned somebody And if he did then they'd have a record of it down at the desk Well, I got back to my place and asked the operator Oh, it feels good when you got the right sweepstakes ticket She said a call had been put in from my place at 10 15 to the ambrose hotel room 204 Well at last things were beginning to make sense They must have made sense for about five seconds because helman called the girl handed me the phone and he started in I got the news for you novak. We checked the prints on that murder gun. They don't add Take your troubles to the chaplain helman. I got my quota. Yeah, you got fancy friends too, novak The prints belong to jake fedelo. Yeah, how do you spell that if I dig novak to jake fedelo? I'm nothing Who is he cheap punk like you novak? He's working out a 20-year stretch in alcatraz. Yeah, alcatraz So there's no tie between the murder gun and the murder maybe fedelo bought himself a two-day furlough We already checked Guard saw him in his cell at 11 o'clock tonight reading the book guards pay the rent to helman My boat was out in that beta night and it came back full of bullets and blood now You're trying to tell me there's no connection You better find out if a guy can skip alcatraz for a few hours I'll wait novak if you can tell me how it's done before long Well, nothing matched now. It was like the chorus girl's legs in a cheap nightclub If jake fedelo was smart enough to beat alcatraz for a couple of hours Then he wasn't dumb enough to leave that murder gun behind And what was the connection between denine and jake fedelo and who lived at the ambrose hotel? Well, I went up there to find out it was a small place up near the top of telegraph hill and When I rode by I could see alcatraz sitting out in the bay a lonely island full of birthdays The ambrose turned out to be a high-toned little joint the sort of place where the welcome mats printed in old english I went up to 204 the card in the door said fred rica sims I knocked and When the door opened it was like shaking hands with a flamethrower She was a tall number and she screamed final addition all over She stood in the doorway for a minute and swayed in a nice contented way like a snake on the right diet And when she said hello, you wanted to hand her your arm and say twist Good evening. Yeah My name is novak. I'll remember Won't you come in? It'll save an argument. Good I hope you don't mind crowds mr. Novak. She means me mr. Novak. I'm mike trevor and i'm freddie sims Well, that brings us up to date a drink would do so much more You need a drink mr. Novak. You look a little dusty. Don't mind her. Novak. She addresses all people as peasants All right. Now suppose you two landowners tell me who killed joe denine You know mike. I don't think he wants to drink. We'll all celebrate when you get around to denine I don't think we know a man by the name of denine Particularly if he's dead. Yes, I'm sure we wouldn't like him. Come on. Let's drop the smart talk Come on back in the saloon a guy by the name of joe denine died all over my kitchen tonight Don't get tough novak if you missed your dinner. All right, but don't come up here screaming about your dead friends Now look i'm about 10 feet behind a phone call denine put in a call for this number just before he died Then it was whimsy novak or anything else you'd like to call it We don't know the man you can mull it over on your way downstairs Yeah, and you can use the time to think over that safety deposit box What safety deposit box? Oh, you're jumping your cue lady make it more casual, huh? Do you know what you're talking about novak? You think so I'll tell you what i'll do novak I'll buy that key from you You got a deal unless you want to pay it off with money. You mean joe denine. That's right I'm running front on a murder rap. You want that key if you want it bad enough come on down to headquarters We'll make a trade. No, thanks novak You didn't look right, but I thought you might be hiding your brain somewhere This way you lose money. You lose even more trevor I was going to ease you into that murder rap, but the offer's out You'll have to struggle in and you'll be too tired to get out. Can I allow neither of you boys to pick axe? No, thanks Well, I'm going to run along. Can I uh Drop you any place novak? I'll stay You know, I didn't think I could drop you any place Novak, you ought to sell that gleam in your eye some airport could use it Good night, freddy Be careful Good night, mike. I can take care of myself. Yes if you try That's all I was worried about Your friend reads the wrong books. I'll bet you never wasted your time that way Why don't you sit down on the couch here and have a drink patsey now that the argument's over is it? At least we need a drink Yeah, sure That'll make the talk come easy about that key. You think I want the key like nothing else in the world That's a little rash patsey But I do want it. I want it very badly. Those are famous last words lady You heard the rod with mike the prices haven't changed. Got too expensive darling Here's your drink. What are you looking at patsey? You No way you slide around on that couch Yeah You belong in the everglades if I was there patsey I think you're the kind of a guy who'll be right around the next bend You sound pretty sure That's a good way to lose your shirt. I am sure patsey I know that about us. We belong in this farm Yeah, we belong together because we're the same kind We're neither good nor bad. We just are and that has to do You make it sound corny, baby try to hide darling, but I can see you peeking through your fingers I can see you awfully good for me here patsey Watch out. You're backing into a corner angel, but I've got you with me Make some more noise, huh? I like it. It's true. I've got you with me. Haven't I patsey I can still struggle. I'll bet you don't struggle good I'll bet you don't struggle good at all patsey I still got that key, baby It stays at my place. I could eat you patsey. You're wonderful. Yeah You never end hand me my drink and the soda at the end of the table Sure, that's it darling It doesn't pay much to fall in love I spent enough time on her rug to work my way into the design and when I finally came to it was morning There was nobody around the place. So I started for home On the way I tried to fill in the blind spots, but it was like trying to match pearls in the dark Somebody had killed the name for the key to that safety deposit box, but where was the key? If the girl or mike trevor did it Then why were they still on the trail? Well, when I got to my apartment the place was torn apart Looks something like a mop closet after a new year's eve party Jaco was sitting in the middle of the room listening to the water fizz Good morning Where'd you get the bump on the head romance? What'd you find out Jaco? Dineen had lots of friends and enemies. Yeah, one of them's jake fedello He's number one on the list. Dineen had a brawl with fedello two years ago Jake promised to square the beef. He's in a bad spot for it now Maybe Dineen has no safety deposit box Oh, that was my out. Perhaps you can take up folk dancing in prison. I'll send you diagrams of new steps from time to time Uh fedello has a safety deposit box. So yeah, he's got a lot of money floating around somewhere Well, well and a lot of women doing the same thing Oh, we're getting a better shuffle now Is the girl's name freddy sims? That's right fedello loves her like the last 15 minutes of life That's why he won't like it get to the point, huh? She's supposed to be waiting for him But she's got married in mexico to a guy named mike trevor fedello's best friend Does it make sense? No, it doesn't. Suppose jakes found out about his sweetheart and best friend Why would he kill Dineen? I don't know except you'll find out patsey that sometimes the difference between your best friend And your worst enemy is only a matter of opportunity Yeah, no back talking. How's the dent in your forehead? Oh, you get around helman. Yeah, we picked her up at your apartment She tell you about that key. Oh little. She made a confession too. She's generous not the mike trevor She pinned the whole thing on him and signed the statement We're gonna have to pick him up now. I'll see you in 10 minutes. Why case he wants to shoot somebody I'm offering you Things were moving fast now I sent jaco down to start repair work on the boat and helman picked me up five minutes later We drove out geary and turned on van s Oh helman was real subtle He stopped right in front of the rooming house where mike trevor was living The girl had mapped that out for him trevor was in a first floor room It was a quiet neighborhood but as we opened the front door and started in I got the idea It was going to be a tough place to get any sleep for the next few minutes Down on the right side here Stay ahead of me no vac You're one copper who will die in bed helman I'm the hall and be quiet On this lap you go first Stand back while I throw it open That empty helman The girl said he was here Now what's that? Your boys up at the top of the stairs You see him? He's not wearing neon pants go up and get him Come on down trevor your girl talked Come on down and sign a confession I've got a better idea copper You come up and hand me the pen All right no back Move over helman he's going to argue He's heading for the roof let's go Hold it helman if that door up there is locked we'll run right through the barrel You get one more chance trevor Come on down That roof door is locked All right copper I'm coming down Make a hole Now you got your hole trevor Yeah No vac You better get to that safety deposit box Get there in a hurry Before the girl Now the city owns him now helman Let's get to that safety deposit box Let her have the key what do you care no vac She's Fidella's girl There's a queer twist here somewhere How do you know what's in that box? So Fidella's in love with the girl he's grateful what do you care? That's what makes it good Love and gratitude the love goes on helman But the gratitude changes Well the way things stood there was only one place That key could be I got to a phone and called Jaco I told him to check out on the boat for a key Somewhere on the floorboards Jaco seemed happy when he said that some girl Had come by 15 minutes ago And nosed around the boat for a while Well helman and I rushed down to the bank When we got downstairs freddy Was just starting into the vault Hello patsy you look rested You better think it over No but we can hold the door until we check with Fidella Go ahead I don't think he's gonna like it I'll be back in a moment Let's go no vac we can hold the door upstairs I just want to see 18 carat greed when she opens that box There's a gratitude helman Well patsy I got the key huh Yeah you got everything angel How about Mike What happened to him He beat you over the line by 20 minutes Oh That's a nice way to let me know anyway I'll try again Because you don't rate a nice way You're not worth anything Fidella ever had Well I started the argument I couldn't finish it I was wrong about one thing angel When I said Fidella wouldn't like this I think you will Yeah He was a cutie Fidella was a thorough guy The way he told Helman Everything worked out But the right inning Fidella found out about the girl And Mike Trevor so he pulled a switch He hired his enemy Joe Deneen to do the job Deneen planted the bomb In the safety deposit box And just to prove it was a square pitch Fidella gave Deneen a gun With his prints on it Deneen was supposed to kill the girl And leave the key for Mike To blow his head off Just to make it clean Fidella got in touch with Mike On the side and told him to look up Deneen if anything happened to the girl That way he figured to wrap up All three of them But Mike jumped the gun He started tailing Deneen And shot him up out on the bay He followed him to my place And killed him with a fingerprint of gun Deneen was carrying Deneen didn't get onto the double cross With some money in that safety deposit box He began to look awfully big So the girl finally double crossed Mike Trevor and turned him in Trevor killed those two guys in the pier And he had lost Deneen in the fog And when he drove up A couple of gunsles around got scared Well Hellman asked only one question What could that girl have said to Jaco To make him let her walk in And breeze out with that key I mentioned that to Jaco but he just smiled The American Broadcasting Company has just brought you Pat Novak for hire Starring Jack Webb Pat Novak is directed and produced By William P. Russo Jaco Madigan is played by Tudor Owen Inspector Hellman is played by Raymond Burr Music was composed and conducted By Basil Adlum In our cast were Yvonne Fahty Toll Avery Harley Bear and Herb Ellis This program is being released to our service Everyone overseas through the worldwide Facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service This is George Veneman inviting you To be with us again next week When over most of these same ABC stations Will bring you Pat Novak For hire This program came to you from Hollywood This is ABC The American Broadcasting